WASHINGTON
US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned President Donald Trump on Thursday for his call for the execution of six Democratic lawmakers, and warned of the rising threat of political violence.
"Let's be crystal clear, the President of the United States is calling for the execution of elected officials. This is an outright threat, and it's deadly serious," Schumer said on the Senate floor.
Trump, in a series of posts on Truth Social, demanded Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, as well as Reps. Jason Crow, Chrissy Houlahan, Maggie Goodlander and Chris Deluzio, be arrested and tried after they released a video urging US service members and intelligence personnel to disobey orders that would violate the law.
Schumer linked Trump’s rhetoric to past episodes of political violence, including the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
"We have already seen what happens when Donald Trump tells his followers that his political opponents are enemies of the state. ... When Donald Trump uses the language of execution and treason, some of his supporters may very well listen," he said.
Schumer called on lawmakers from both parties, and the public, to condemn the president’s statements "immediately and without qualification."
"Who would have thought the President of the United States saying his opponents should be hanged. It's outrageous. No president has ever stooped as low as Donald Trump. None! He has made political violence a feature of his politics, and if we don't draw a line here, there's no line left to draw," he said.
Schumer said Trump crossed “yet another line that no democracy can afford to tolerate” and urged a unified response.
"He must be condemned forcefully, loudly and without excuses before someone takes his words as permission to do the unthinkable. Anything less enables the flames of hatred to grow and spread," Schumer stressed.